Villagers blocking a rural drilling site earmarked for fracking were dragged away by police yesterday as protests turned ugly.

Around a hundred police – including trained riot officers – were brought in to break up the blockade which was in its second day in the West Sussex countryside near Balcombe.

The site, which has been selected for exploratory drilling by fracking company Cuadrilla, has attracted a growing number of protesters all week who until yesterday morning had managed to block all access from the road.

Police and demonstrators clash at the protest camp in the Sussex village of Balcombe

The village has become a focal point for campaigners who have highlighted fears linked to fracking

Police said the arrests were made to 'ensure public safety' and came after talks failed

But last night Sussex Police confirmed
that 16 protesters had been arrested after they sat on logs across the
entrance and refused to move.

Trucks and equipment for the drilling were then escorted into the site by officers.

Anti-fracking campaigners including a
former page three model and the daughter of Pretenders singer Chrissie
Hynde have vowed to mount a round-the-clock campaign of resistance to
the fracking.

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Natalie Hynde, 30, said she was delighted to be part of the movement and dubbed yesterday’s police reaction ‘over the top’.

She said: ‘It was quite distressing
when they started making the arrests. I saw police brutality. Someone
had her ears twisted and thumbs pushed back, it was extremely
upsetting.’

Miss Hynde, who defines herself as a
professional activist, has been protesting at the site entrance for four
days. She said: ‘I think fracking is a dangerous and expensive way of
producing energy when there are opportunities to invest in renewables
instead. It’s a bit like sucking the very life blood out of the planet.’

Anti-fracking campaigners had gathered yesterday for a second day in the village of Balcombe, West Sussex, where Cuadrilla is poised to start test drilling

Cuadrilla said obstacles blocking the road have now been removed and delivery of equipment has resumed

Some protesters have vowed to mount a 24-hour campaign of resistance against fracking

Balcombe has become a focal point for
campaigners who have highlighted fears linked to fracking, including the
use of chemicals. They claim that in a recent survey of local residents
more than 90 per cent were opposed to the drilling.

Villagers Alex Henderson, 68, and
Pamela his wife, 66, joined the protest to protect their home. Mr
Henderson said: ‘We’re concerned about the prospect of hydraulic
fracking and what they may do to the environment.’

Balcombe resident Gemma Hodgson, 34, a
recruitment consultant, said she was worried about the possible water
contamination the fracking might cause.

Natalie Hynde (left), daughter of singer Chrissie Hynde, watches while police and demonstrators clash at the protest camp. Campaigners have been highlighting their fears linked to fracking, including the use of chemicals

Police said they aimed to 'provide a safe and secure environment for protesters, residents and the contractors, to minimise disruption to the community and to prevent crime and disorder'

She said: ‘I’m really shocked that an
area of outstanding natural beauty in Tory heartland can be used as a
pilot for a dirty fuel which potentially can contaminate the water that
at its source supplies the whole of Sussex.

‘I’m middle England, a public
schoolgirl with a master’s degree, in a corporate job, a proper Tory
supporter but they’ve lost my vote and I know they’ve lost the vote of
tens of thousands of others.’ Police broke the blockade at around 11am,
offering protesters the chance to move or be arrested.

Some activists criticised the police response as 'disproportionate'

Cuadrilla said it hopes to start drilling 'as soon as is reasonably possible'

West Sussex County Council granted Cuadrilla planning permission to undertake exploration work in 2010

Sussex police said the arrests were
made to ‘ensure public safety’ and came after talks between activists
and protest liaison officers failed.

Last night Cuadrilla said it was
‘disappointed’ at the actions of the protesters but that they remained
determined to continue their operations in Sussex and remain poised to
begin drilling next week.

In a statement they said: ‘To date,
the vast majority of the protesters have been peaceful and good natured.
We are disappointed by the actions of a minority.’

Keith Taylor, Green MEP for the South East, described the protests in Balcombe as a fight between the 'protectors of the land versus the protectors of private profit'

Protesters have been camping for two days at Balcombe where an energy company is planning to drill an exploratory bore hole to extract gas by the process known as fracking

Cuadrilla has said that, if it finds any supplies, a series of extensive technical, environmental and public consultations would take place before any further decisions are made